Many kinds of blessings

This is the time of year for gratitude. Traditionally, it ended the harvest season and people could feast. Most of us celebrate now by feasting way too much. Still, however we celebrate, we try to remember and count our blessings.

My blessings come in chunks. As a citizen, I'm grateful for a land where I can pursue goals I choose, worship how and where I choose, and daily make choices for myself, my loved ones, my career and future, all based on what I think will be best and serve the most good.

As a wife and mother, I'm grateful for a faithful husband who has stayed by my side for decades. I thank my children for growing up to be wonderful people, all healthy and contributing, and I'm deeply grateful for the beautiful children-in-law they've brought into the family and the amazing grandchildren who've been born to them. My family is right at the top of my blessing list.


As a person who loves my creature comforts, I'm thankful for a warm, safe home, for heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer, and pleasant surroundings. And I'm grateful for good food, not just at end-of-harvest time, but throughout the year.

Finally, as a writer, I'm thankful for the other wonderful writers around me who support my career, for the family who encourages, and most especially, for you, our readers, who give us a reason to keep writing. Thank you all, and happy Thanksgiving!

Susan's is the author of 20 novels. Her newest series explores the four seasons in nearby locales.  Paris in the Springtime and Sunny's Summer are available now. Look for Amber in Autumn and Winter Skye, both coming early in 2020 in e-book and paperback. 

Christmas Cruising - A Yearly Tradition

Nearly every year my husband, Steve, and I take a cruise in December. It’s our Christmas present to each other. We usually settle on a five-seven day cruise in the Caribbean, but this year we decided to do something different. We went to the Panama Canal and South America on the Island Princess.

The trip included five days at sea and five ports of call—Aruba, Cartagena, Panama Canal and Colon, Limon and Ocho Rios.

Our favorite stop was the Panama Canal and a trip through the Panamanian rainforest. Early in the morning, special canal pilots boarded the ship to steer it through the locks. As our ship entered the Gatun locks (there are three), Steve and I stood on the balcony of our room and watched the process while the sun came up. It was an interesting scene. The canal is 50 miles long, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Isthmus of Panama, but once we went through the locks, our ship only traveled as far as Gatun Lake. The port lecturer on the ship provided a running commentary over the loudspeaker as we passed through, giving us plenty of detail.

Once we entered Gatun Lake, we left the ship and were tendered to shore to meet our tour bus for our trip to the rainforest. This is a view of the Gamboa rainforest (inside the Soberania national forest) from the main balcony of the Rainforest Resort, looking out at the Chagres River. We stopped there for a few minutes on the way to the aerial tram that took us across the jungle canopy (where we saw sloths sleeping in the trees and listened to toucans calling each other). The view of the rainforest is amazing! Panama has set aside one quarter of their country as protected lands so there is plenty to see.

At the end of the tram ride through the jungle canopy we encountered a visitor, just hanging around, waiting for nice tourists to provide free treats.

This little guy is a “Coati,” a mix of raccoon and anteater. He was quite the little extrovert, standing on his haunches to reach up as I fed him a chunk of banana.

By the time we finished the tour, it began to rain steadily. I grabbed my umbrella and spent a couple minutes just strolling around. I figured I might never experience a shower in that rainforest again and I wanted to enjoy it while I could. Perhaps one day I’ll be fortunate enough to see the Amazon rainforest. I certainly hope so.

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 Denise Devine is a USA TODAY bestselling author who has had a passion for books since she discovered Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder in second grade. She wrote her first book, a mystery, at age thirteen and has been writing ever since. Merry Christmas, Darling is a light romantic comedy and the first book in the "Counting Your Blessings" series. She's currently hard at work on book two. To find out more about Denise, please visit her at www.deniseannettedevine.com